Hey Gang,
So I am now in the process of bringing my pool down from mustard algae shock level. I passed a OCLT and ran my pool for 24 hours at MA shock as per the directions on this forum. I've thrown away foam pool toys and soaked material swim floats in my slop sink filled with water and bleach. I've put my pool toys in a cooler with water and bleach. I've left my poles and other larger pieces of equipment in the pool at MA shock level for 3 hours (when only 1 was called for). I put my robot in the pool and let that run for 5 hours just to make sure that the high chlorine level touches all the inside parts of it. I didn't even rinse the robot off this time when I pulled it out; whatever chlorine solution is in it I wanted it to stay in it. I sprayed the watering hose w/ chlorox bleach spray, the robot caddy/stand, my shock mixing bucket (outside). I even tossed my brushes and ordered new b/c I just can't stomach dealing w/ mustard algae again.
I had what I'm pretty sure was mustard algae last year. Long story short the pool company gave me some yellow treatment sodium bromide stuff (probably shouldn't have used it), I dosed my pool, watched my chlorine drop, fought w/ the drop for a week and than the cover went on it. I have no idea if I was done fighting with the chlorine drop b/c I ran out of time.
This year I opened the pool (which by the way the mesh safety cover was a bad idea I think) to a murky mess. SLAM'd the pool, let my chlorine drift south but still pretty high (7.5 at CYA 70-80 and ph 7.2). Plenty of acidity to keep the chlorine active, comfortably above my target FC level.
And of course the mustard algae came right back with a vengeance. This sandy, dusty pollen looking stuff all on the bottom, smears of it on my walls and floor while I was away. Pool still showed 5ppm of chlorine and no CC when I got back, but the pool was heading south.
SLAMed it again and now I did the MA thing.
Which brings me to the whole point of this post. I want to use Polyquat 60 to help inhibit anything I might have missed. I know I shouldn't need it if FC is held at a proper level (which I had), but i just can't help but think I missed a spot, or a tool, or SOMETHING that will drop it back in my pool. Or maybe that 1ppm OCLT drop was RIGHT on the line and there are some spores somewhere just waiting to start it all over again. I'll probably lose my mind and cover the pool if it comes back again this summer.
Now - many of you have southern pools where they are likely open 6 months, 8 months, maybe all year long. So dealing with a 1-3 week SLAM isn't really a show stopper for you guys. It's part of 'doing business' I suppose. But for those of us in northern states, losing weeks to a SLAM is a huge deal when the pool is only open for 3 months, maybe 4 if you have a heater. While some of you with much more pool time might view a outbreak and a SLAM as a inconvenience, for many of us it is downright heartbreaking. For those of us who only run the pool for a few months out of the year, we may not really care a whole lot if we spend a few bucks more on something to help make the most of our little time. I know some see the price of Polyquat 60 and think they don't want to spend the money on it, and that's fine. But if putting it in adds another blanket of security to keep this mustard from popping back in (irregardless of FC monitoring, dead zones in the pool, etc) I'd buy a case of the stuff and not even blink. Well worth it to me than the hassle of a SLAM and losing weeks in a short pool season.
Now, to be clear I am not abandoning the principles of this forum. I will still test daily for FC and pH, and weekly for the other's as I have always done. I will still brush the walls once a week, maybe twice a week. I know PolyQuat isn't a killer really and its more of a preventer. But if I dose the initial large quantity of it per the bottle (and recover the resulting chlorine loss) and keep up w/ the high end of the maintenance dose, if there IS a smidgen of mustard somewhere in my pool that was missed or a article I overlooked sterilizing, will the PolyQuat act as a 2ndary preventative to keep it at bay? I mean, that's what its for right? I don't expect to poor a bottle in and resolve an outbreak, but it should help keep things square assuming proper chlorine level right?
Like I said earlier, personally for me with such a short swim season spending the money on a 1/2 dozen bottles of the stuff for a season is no big deal to me. If it keeps the pool clear I'm happy to do it.
So I am now in the process of bringing my pool down from mustard algae shock level. I passed a OCLT and ran my pool for 24 hours at MA shock as per the directions on this forum. I've thrown away foam pool toys and soaked material swim floats in my slop sink filled with water and bleach. I've put my pool toys in a cooler with water and bleach. I've left my poles and other larger pieces of equipment in the pool at MA shock level for 3 hours (when only 1 was called for). I put my robot in the pool and let that run for 5 hours just to make sure that the high chlorine level touches all the inside parts of it. I didn't even rinse the robot off this time when I pulled it out; whatever chlorine solution is in it I wanted it to stay in it. I sprayed the watering hose w/ chlorox bleach spray, the robot caddy/stand, my shock mixing bucket (outside). I even tossed my brushes and ordered new b/c I just can't stomach dealing w/ mustard algae again.
I had what I'm pretty sure was mustard algae last year. Long story short the pool company gave me some yellow treatment sodium bromide stuff (probably shouldn't have used it), I dosed my pool, watched my chlorine drop, fought w/ the drop for a week and than the cover went on it. I have no idea if I was done fighting with the chlorine drop b/c I ran out of time.
This year I opened the pool (which by the way the mesh safety cover was a bad idea I think) to a murky mess. SLAM'd the pool, let my chlorine drift south but still pretty high (7.5 at CYA 70-80 and ph 7.2). Plenty of acidity to keep the chlorine active, comfortably above my target FC level.
And of course the mustard algae came right back with a vengeance. This sandy, dusty pollen looking stuff all on the bottom, smears of it on my walls and floor while I was away. Pool still showed 5ppm of chlorine and no CC when I got back, but the pool was heading south.
SLAMed it again and now I did the MA thing.
Which brings me to the whole point of this post. I want to use Polyquat 60 to help inhibit anything I might have missed. I know I shouldn't need it if FC is held at a proper level (which I had), but i just can't help but think I missed a spot, or a tool, or SOMETHING that will drop it back in my pool. Or maybe that 1ppm OCLT drop was RIGHT on the line and there are some spores somewhere just waiting to start it all over again. I'll probably lose my mind and cover the pool if it comes back again this summer.
Now - many of you have southern pools where they are likely open 6 months, 8 months, maybe all year long. So dealing with a 1-3 week SLAM isn't really a show stopper for you guys. It's part of 'doing business' I suppose. But for those of us in northern states, losing weeks to a SLAM is a huge deal when the pool is only open for 3 months, maybe 4 if you have a heater. While some of you with much more pool time might view a outbreak and a SLAM as a inconvenience, for many of us it is downright heartbreaking. For those of us who only run the pool for a few months out of the year, we may not really care a whole lot if we spend a few bucks more on something to help make the most of our little time. I know some see the price of Polyquat 60 and think they don't want to spend the money on it, and that's fine. But if putting it in adds another blanket of security to keep this mustard from popping back in (irregardless of FC monitoring, dead zones in the pool, etc) I'd buy a case of the stuff and not even blink. Well worth it to me than the hassle of a SLAM and losing weeks in a short pool season.
Now, to be clear I am not abandoning the principles of this forum. I will still test daily for FC and pH, and weekly for the other's as I have always done. I will still brush the walls once a week, maybe twice a week. I know PolyQuat isn't a killer really and its more of a preventer. But if I dose the initial large quantity of it per the bottle (and recover the resulting chlorine loss) and keep up w/ the high end of the maintenance dose, if there IS a smidgen of mustard somewhere in my pool that was missed or a article I overlooked sterilizing, will the PolyQuat act as a 2ndary preventative to keep it at bay? I mean, that's what its for right? I don't expect to poor a bottle in and resolve an outbreak, but it should help keep things square assuming proper chlorine level right?
Like I said earlier, personally for me with such a short swim season spending the money on a 1/2 dozen bottles of the stuff for a season is no big deal to me. If it keeps the pool clear I'm happy to do it.